


One and Only

by andthensusays



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Oh my god so much Fluff, it's shameless really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-13
Updated: 2014-03-13
Packaged: 2018-01-15 13:34:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1306723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthensusays/pseuds/andthensusays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was the way Harry's face would still light up every time he got a text from Louis. Even though they lived together. Even though they worked together. Even though they spent 98% of their time together. Still.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One and Only

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](http://verily-i-say.tumblr.com/post/78788956785/you-have-no-idea-how-much-i-need-a-fic-featuring) post by the lovely verily-i-say on tumblr! It's not exactly what you were looking for, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

When Ed had first met Harry, Harry was a brand new London transplant. The X Factor had just barely ended, and Harry had officially moved to London with the rest of the One Direction boys to try and make a go of a career. Although Ed wasn't a regular X Factor viewer, and didn't know much about One Direction, he instantly fell for the younger boy's charm and dry sense of humor. They became fast friends, and it wasn't long before Harry was begging to introduce him to Louis.

“What are you doing right now?” Harry asked over the phone one afternoon.

“Nothing really,” Ed replied easily. “Why, what's up?”

“Me and Louis are bored, come over! You have to see our new place!” Harry demanded.

“I bet Simon set you up in some posh flat, am I right?” Ed guessed.

“It's unreal,” Harry said gleefully, and Ed couldn't help but smile at his friend's enthusiasm. “Come hang out! Plus, you still haven't met Louis, and you really should.”

Ah, yes. Louis. Harry talked about Louis pretty much incessantly, and Ed didn't want to pry, but Harry's infatuation with his band mate could bee seen from outer space. It was so obvious that it made Ed almost reluctant to meet the fabled lad—he thought he might be a little heartbroken for Harry if it was clear that Louis didn't return his affections. As it were, Ed didn't really know what was going on with the two boys, and was relatively happy to stay that way. A relationship between two members of a boy band right on the cusp of great success just spelled trouble, and Ed really didn't want to have to witness the inevitable crash and burn that would happen in a relationship like that.

“Oh really? This is only the five hundredth time you've mentioned that fact,” Ed teased. “I'll be over in a bit to meet your boy.”

When Ed did finally meet Louis, it was almost worse than he'd imagined. As obsessed as Harry had seemed with Louis, Louis appeared to be even worse. His eyes almost never left Harry, following him around the room and tracking his every movement, and he was always finding an excuse to touch, or tickle, or cuddle him.

The thing was, Ed liked Louis, just like Harry said he would. What wasn't to like? Louis was hysterically funny and quick witted, and could banter with the best of them. He clearly cared about his family and friends, and was somewhat of a leader in the band, a person who the other lads would turn to for comfort or protection. Ed really, really liked him, he did. It's just...whatever thing he had going on with Harry...that just couldn't end well.

“You know Louis is my boyfriend, right?” Harry asked one day.

And Ed had tried his best to keep his nose out of his friend's business, but since it was out in the open now, he felt a duty as a friend to gently voice his concern.

“I figured,” Ed nodded. “Have you two been dating long?”

“A few months officially, but we've been unofficially official for quite awhile now, if that makes sense?” Harry answered easily.

“Is it...” Ed started to ask a question, but trailed off.

“Go ahead,” Harry laughed. “Ask your question. It's probably nothing I haven't heard before, at any rate.”

“It's just...are you sure that's a good idea? What happens if you guys break up?”

“We won't,” Harry said confidently.

“That's very romantic of you,” Ed countered pointedly.

“We're not idiots,” Harry laughed. “We certainly don't plan on ever breaking up, but I know that there's a possibility it could happen one day. And if it does, we'll figure it out.”

Ed chose to keep his further comments to himself, but if he were asked he would have said that it seemed kind of risky to bank so much on the success of a relationship between two teenagers that was probably based more on lust than anything else. But, Harry didn't ask. So Ed stayed quiet.

Truthfully, the more he spent time with Harry and Louis, the more he worried for them. They were always touching, and flirting, and looking like they wanted to rip each other's clothes off at all times. They were so, so young, and Ed remembered all too well thinking he was in love at 17, only to discover a few months later that maybe it wasn't love, after all. Harry and Louis seemed like a ticking time bomb, and Ed could only watch and hope that neither of them ended up too terribly hurt when the inevitable break up would come.

If he was being brutally honest, the more time he spent around the couple, the angrier it made him. They were such genuinely _good_ people, both of them, and they were being so reckless both with their hearts and their careers. Ed didn't understand it, and he didn't understand how the rest of their bandmates could be so supportive. Didn't they realize that their relationship could only end in one way? Were they seriously all willing to risk their careers on teenage love?

“Management won't let us come out,” Harry said one night, sprawled out on Ed's sofa, beer sitting half-empty in his hand.

“Typical,” Ed scoffed sympathetically.

“S'alright, we figured that'd be the case from the beginning,” Harry shrugged.

“So you're what? Just gonna be in a secret relationship?” Ed asked with a quirk of his eyebrows.

“No different from what we've been doing, really. It'll be alright,” Harry replied, seemingly unconcerned.

“I dunno, mate, sounds like that would be pretty hard to keep up, if you ask me,” Ed said casually.

“Yeah,” Harry sighed. “It's not bad now, but like...it could be bad eventually. We know that. But, like...s'worth it, right?” Harry asked with a shrug of his shoulder.

“Is it?” Ed asked, even cringing himself at how unfeeling that sounded.

“Of course,” Harry said matter-of-fact, and Ed wished he could have even one-tenth of the easy confidence that Harry had about his relationship.

Relationships like that didn't last. They just didn't.

When Ed finally changed his mind, it wasn't due to some soul-crushingly dramatic revelation or spectacular scene. Rather, in typical Harry and Louis fashion, it was so subtly simple that Ed was just as likely to miss it as he was to witness it. He just finally opened his eyes.

The party had been absolutely epic. What had started as a small gathering had turned into a complete madhouse, alcohol flowing freely and people dancing, grinding, and laughing until the sun came up. Come morning, bodies littered the flat; people were passed out in various positions and locations, too smashed or tired to bother going home.

Ed groaned and pulled himself up from the place he'd secured at one end of the sofa, bladder screaming. He shuffled his way towards the hall toilet, room spinning a bit as he walked.

Standing in the bathroom, Ed could hear something on the other side of the wall. Giggling? It was definite giggling. Flushing the toilet, he stumbled back into the hallway and continued further down, trying to investigate the source.

The door to Harry and Louis' room was open, and the closer he moved, the louder the giggling became. He paused at the door, ready to make some embarrassing comment about how kind it would be for them to close the door _before_ having sex. What he saw, however, made him turn and slowly move back down the hallway so he was hidden, but still had a partial view of his friends.

Harry and Louis were lying in bed, most definitely  _not_ having sex, giggling like mad. Harry was on his back on the left side of the bed, legs splayed out comfortably. Louis was lying on his stomach on the right side, head cushioned by his right arm. There was a foot or two of space between the couple, but their hands were intertwined, every now and again getting jostled or pulled by one of the boys during their fit of laughter.

“Haz, I'm serious, don't laugh at me,” Louis insisted, barely able to get out the sentence in between his own giggles.

“Not laughing at you,” Harry insisted. “Laughing _with you_.”

“That's such shit!” Louis exclaimed, breaking into further giggles. “No one ever means that!”

“I do,” Harry giggled. “Not laughing at you, promise!”

“You're laughing right now, bastard!” Louis laughed. “I don't even know why I put up with you.”

“You looooooove me!” Harry sang.

“You're impossible,” Louis sighed.

“You're impossibly in love with me,” Harry insisted, voice low and raspy from a night full of alcohol and very little sleep.

There was a beat of silence where the two boys just stared at each other before they burst out into another fit of laughter.

“You're a dick, and I hate you,” Louis giggled. “Burning, passionate hatred from now until the end of eternity.”

“Yeah, we'll see how you feel after pancakes in the morning,” Harry said fondly.

“Pancakes are a weakness, I'll give you that,” Louis admitted. “But you've forgotten one extremely important detail in your grand plan to win back my affections.”

“And what's that?” Harry asked, and Ed could practically hear the grin on his face.

“It's already morning,” Louis said simply. “We haven't even gone to sleep yet, so by the time we wake up it will be like, dinner time.”

“Can it be considered morning if we haven't gone to sleep yet?” Harry asked curiously, making Louis giggle once again.

“Go to sleep, you absolute idiot,” Louis said affectionately.

“Kiss,” Harry demanded.

“That requires movement,” Louis groaned.

“Boyfriend requires kiss,” Harry countered.

After a half-hearted groan, a bit of shuffling, what sounded like heads being bumped together followed by more giggles, Ed could hear the sound of lips being smacked together.

“Love you,” Harry said sincerely, pulling their still entwined hands to his chest, settling them right over his heart.

“Love you more,” Louis responded sleepily.

Ed turned around slowly and walked back down the hallway towards the sofa with a small smile on his face. Harry and Louis often got lost in their own little world, but it was a rare opportunity for Ed to see the couple so open and unguarded. He knew that there was genuine affection between the two boys, of course, but he would be lying if he said he hadn't thought that it was a relationship based mostly on sex and attraction.

It's not that Ed didn't believe Harry when he would talk about how Louis was his soul mate, it's just that...well, they were both  _so young_ . He was certainly not one to deny true love when he saw it, but he also couldn't be blamed for being slightly skeptical that Harry had indeed found The One at 17. But, watching the way they interacted when they thought no one else was looking...that told him everything he needed to know.

They were attracted to each other, sure,  _obviously,_ but underneath that attraction was a very real love. And they made each other happy. So, so happy that Ed could barely believe he'd allowed himself to overlook that.

The funny thing was, once Ed had noticed it, he started seeing it every time he was around them. The love they had for each other was practically pouring out of their bodies, and Ed couldn't believe that he didn't see it at first. It was  _everywhere_ .

It was the way Louis always had a firm hand on Harry's back whenever they were in a big crowd, leading and protecting his boy.

It was the way Harry would come up behind Louis when he was frowning at himself in the mirror and press a kiss to his shoulder, whispering words in his ear that would make Louis bite his lip in an attempt not to smile too wide.

It was the way they knew each other's favorite foods, and how to make a cup of tea exactly to the other person's specifications.

It was the way Harry was almost incapable of going shopping without picking up something for Louis, just because.

It was the way Louis' eyes rarely left Harry. No matter where they were, or how many people were around them, they had an intense awareness of where the other person was.

It was the way they were so perfectly imperfect for each other. Louis could push too far at times, other times Harry could be too clingy, and they both had to constantly keep their jealousy in check, but somehow it just worked. They could fight, bicker, and argue until they were blue in the face, but more often than not their arguments would end in laughter when one of them would pull a funny face, and the other would complain about how impossible it was to stay angry.

It was the way Harry's face would  _still_ light up every time he got a text from Louis. Even though they lived together. Even though they worked together. Even though they spent 98% of their time together. Still.

It was  _everything_ . So many little things strung together to make one of the most functional relationships that Ed had ever seen in two people so young. In two people of any age, really.

Harry and Louis were solid. And they knew it.

That was why, when Harry drunkenly slurred to Ed a few weeks later about how much he loved Louis, and how sure he was that he was going to marry him, Ed could just grin and reply with a simple “I know. You will.” Because he honestly believed that.

At some point, in the mad chaos that was their life, Harry and Louis managed to find their way to each other, and hold on tightly. They weren't perfect, but they were  _real_ , and  _committed_ , and Ed thought that you really couldn't get more perfect than that, honestly.

When he played  _Little Things_ for them for the first time, Louis was so shocked that he was actually speechless, and Harry cried.

It was just a simple song, really. But it was written from the heart, for two people who were hopelessly in love, facing an uphill battle in an industry that wanted desperately to closet them. It was written for two teenagers who loved beyond their years, and had more struggles lying ahead of them than any two people of their age should.

No one knew what the future held, but there, in that moment, there was love.

For a simple song, it kind of felt like one of the best things he'd ever done.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [tumblr](andthensusays.tumblr.com) if you'd like!


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